Public Interest Research Organizations

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an non-profit legal organization, whose stated purpose is to combat racism and promote civil rights through research, education, and litigation. The SPLC fights all forms of discrimination and works to protect society's most vulnerable members, handling innovative cases that few lawyers are willing to take.

Like its founder, Sargent Shriver, The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law believes that “the law can help get the poor out of poverty.” It embraces a bold advocacy agenda that includes policy development and modern communications, resulting in improved lives for low-wage workers, families with greater economic security, and neighborhoods that preserve opportunities for low-income individuals.

Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC) is a not-for-profit organization concentrating in the areas of law that affect low-income families. Established in 1978 to advocate on behalf of low-income Virginians on poverty issues of statewide importance, VPLC is the only state-wide organization providing training to local legal aid program staff, private bar attorneys, and low-income clients, relating exclusively to the legal rights of Virginia's poor.

The mission of NLCHP is to prevent and end homelessness by serving as the legal arm of the nationwide movement to end homelessness. To achieve its mission, the organization pursues three main strategies: impact litigation; policy advocacy; and public education.

NLCHP strives to place homelessness in the larger context of poverty. By taking this approach, the organization aims to address homelessness as a very visible manifestation of deeper causes, including the shortage of affordable housing, insufficient income, and inadequate social services.

Maria Foscarinis, a lawyer who has been working to end homelessness at the national level since 1985, established NLCHP in 1989.